Mad About Science™ salutes the propane scientists at AmeriGas, the nation’s largest supplier of propane tanks and cylinders. Greg Rice and Chris Selepec from AmeriGas demonstrated the science behind propane tanks and explained propane tank safety at their facility in Commerce City, Colorado.

Greg and Chris demonstrated that propane is both a gas and a liquid. It is a colorless and odorless gas. Like with natural gas, an identifying odor is added so it can be easily detected.

They showed how the liquid quickly boils off and turns into a gas and talked about the importance of checking for leaks on your propane cylinders at home. A recent house fire in Parker, Colorado was partially due to an improperly connected propane cylinder to a barbecue grill that was up next to the house.

For more information on how to check for a propane leak, what to do if you smell gas, how to transport, store and dispose of propane tanks, visit the experiment on AmeriGas and the Science of Propane page.

What about the 300 gallon tanks people are getting to heat there homes ? They live around trees over 150ft tall.It will be deadly when a huge tree falls on a tank with hundreds of gallons,the vapor cloud would be huge.I keep thinking about the airforce concluding that air-fuel bombs are whey more powerful than TNT per lb.